Integrated rf front end system

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for integrating functional components of front-end modules for wireless radios. Front-end modules disclosed may be dual-band front-end modules for use in 802.11ac-compliant devices. In certain embodiments, integration of front-end module components on a single die is achieved by implementing a high-resistivity layer or substrate directly underneath, adjacent to, and/or supporting SiGe BiCMOS technology elements.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This disclosure is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 13/536,749 filed Jun. 28, 2012 and entitled“INTEGRATED RF FRONT END SYSTEM,” the disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of electronics,and more particularly, to radio frequency front-end modules.

2. Description of Related Art

Radio frequency (RF) is a common term for a range of frequency ofelectromagnetic radiation typically used to produce and detect radiowaves. Such a range can be from about 30 kHz to 300 GHz. Wirelesscommunication devices often include front-end circuitry for processingor conditioning RF signals at an incoming or outgoing frequency orsignal port. RF front-end modules may be components of receiver,transmitter, or transceiver systems associated with a wireless device.

RF front-end design may include a number of considerations, includingcomplexity, substrate compatibility, performance, and integration.

SUMMARY

Certain embodiments provide functional integration of all necessary anddesirable building blocks of the front-end circuitry onto a singleBiCMOS technology platform featuring a high-resistivity substrate. Forexample, FEMs may be fully integrated using SiGe BiCMOS technology withhigh-resistivity layers. An integrated front-end module comprising:

Certain embodiments disclosed herein provide a silicon substrate havinga high-resistivity portion and an SiGe bipolar transistor disposed onthe substrate above the high-resistivity portion. The front-end modulemay include a switch disposed on the substrate. The bipolar transistormay be part of a power amplifier module. Such power amplifier module mayinclude, for example, a first power amplifier device configured toamplify RF signals in a first frequency band and a second poweramplifier device configured to amplify RF signals in a second frequencyband separate from the first frequency band. A signal at 2.4 GHz may beincluded in the first frequency band, and a signal at 5 GHz may beincluded in the second frequency band.

The first power amplifier device may be configured to amplify RF signalsin accordance with IEEE 802.11b/g specifications and the second poweramplifier device may be configured to amplify RF signals in accordancewith IEEE 802.11a/ac specifications. Furthermore, the power amplifiermodule may include a multi-stage power amplifier. For example, the firstpower amplifier device may be a two-stage power amplifier and the secondpower amplifier device may be a three-stage power amplifier.

The front-end module may include various other devices. For example, thefront-end module may include at least one filter device, or a powerdetector module at least partially coupled to the power amplifiermodule. The front-end module may include at least one filter device. Thefront-end module may include a low-noise amplifier module. The low-noiseamplifier module may include a low-noise amplifier bypass switch.

The high-resistivity portion may have a resistivity value greater thanapproximately 500 Ohm*cm. For example, the high-resistivity portion mayhave a resistivity of approximately 1 kOhm*cm or greater. Furthermore,the switch may be an SP4T switch, SP5T switch, or other type of switch.

Certain embodiments disclosed herein provide a method of fabricating anintegrated front-end module. The method may include providing at least aportion of a high-resistivity bulk silicon substrate and forming one ormore bipolar transistors on the high-resistivity substrate. The methodmay further include implanting a low-resistivity region around the oneor more bipolar transistors.

Certain embodiments disclosed herein provide a semiconductor die thatincludes a silicon substrate including a high-resistivity portion andbeing configured to receive a plurality of components. The die mayfurther include RF front-end circuitry disposed on the substrate, the RFfront-end circuitry including an SiGe bipolar transistor disposed abovethe high-resistivity portion. The RF front-end circuitry may beconfigured to process wireless signals in compliance with the IEEE802.11ac wireless communication standard, or other 801.11 standards.Furthermore, the RF front-end circuitry includes a sixth-order SiGepower amplifier filter.

Certain embodiments disclosed herein provide a radio-frequency (RF)module including a packaging substrate configured to receive a pluralityof components, a die mounted on the packaging substrate, the die havinga high-resistivity substrate portion, a switch, a power amplifierincluding an SiGe bipolar transistor disposed above the high-resistivitysubstrate portion, and one or more passive devices, and a plurality ofconnectors configured to provide electrical connections between the dieand the packaging substrate. The packaging substrate may have an area ofless than 3.0 mm2 and may have a height of less than 0.5 mm.

Certain embodiments disclosed herein provide an RF device including aprocessor configured to process RF signals, RF front-end circuitrydisposed on a substrate having a high-resistivity portion, the RFfront-end circuitry including a switch, one or more passive devices, anda power amplifier including an SiGe bipolar transistor disposed abovethe high-resistivity portion, and an antenna in communication with atleast a portion of the RF front-end circuitry to facilitate transmissionand reception of the RF signals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments are depicted in the accompanying drawings forillustrative purposes, and should in no way be interpreted as limitingthe scope of the inventions. In addition, various features of differentdisclosed embodiments can be combined to form additional embodiments,which are part of this disclosure. Throughout the drawings, referencenumbers may be reused to indicate correspondence between referenceelements.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a wireless device inaccordance with one or more features of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of an RF module in accordance with oneor more features of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3A illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a poweramplifier module in accordance with one or more features of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3B illustrates a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a poweramplifier in accordance with one or more features of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a front-end module in accordancewith one or more features of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5A illustrates a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a bipolartransistor formed on low-resistivity bulk silicon substrate inaccordance with one or more features of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a bipolar transistorformed on high-resistivity bulk silicon substrate in accordance with oneor more features of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5C illustrates an embodiment of a substrate having a plurality ofelectronic devices disposed thereon in accordance with one or morefeatures of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5D illustrates an embodiment of a substrate having an electronicdevice disposed thereon in accordance with one or more features of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5E illustrates a cross-sectional view of a transmission linedisposed above a high-resistivity substrate in accordance with one ormore features of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5F illustrates a cross-sectional view of a FET transistor formed onlow-resistivity bulk silicon substrate in accordance with one or morefeatures of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5G illustrates a cross-sectional view of a FET transistor formed onhigh-resistivity bulk silicon substrate in accordance with one or morefeatures of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart for a process for implementing ahigh-resistivity substrate in an integrated FEM device in accordance oneor more features of with the present disclosure.

FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate example layouts of embodiments of front-endmodules in accordance with one or more features of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a dual-band front-end module inaccordance with one or more features of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of an integrated front-end modulein accordance with one or more features of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate an embodiments of a coexistence filters forfront-end modules in accordance with one or more features of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 11 is a graph illustrating gain and rejection specificationsassociated with the 802.11ac wireless communication standard.

FIGS. 12A-12D illustrate embodiments of packaging configurations forfront-end modules in accordance with one or more features of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed herein are example configurations and embodiments relating tointegrated RF front-end modules (FEMs), such as fully-integrated FEM's.For example, embodiments of integrated SiGe BiCMOS FEM's are disclosedthat may enable emerging high throughput 802.11ac WLAN applications.

As discussed above, RF FEM's are incorporated into various types ofwireless devices, including computer network radios, cellular phones,PDAs, electronic gaming devices, security and monitoring systems,multi-media systems, and other electronic devices including wireless LAN(WLAN) radios. In the last decade, there have been a number of majortrends in the evolution of WLAN radios. For example, with the increasingdemand of higher data rate communications, the multiple-input,multiple-output (MIMO) technique has been widely adopted to increase thedata rate from the 54 Mbps of a single-input single-output (SISO)operation to 108 Mbps, or more, dual stream MIMO operation. In anotherexample, to avoid bandwidth congestion associated with the 2.4-2.5 GHzband (i.e., 2 GHz band, 2.4 GHz band, g-band), which has only 3 channelsfor 54 Mbps operation, dual-band (g-band and a-band) WLAN configurationhas been increasingly adopted. The a-band (i.e., 5 GHz band, 5.9 Ghzband) WLAN typically operates with signals from 4.9 to 5.9 GHz, whichprovides an increase in the number of available channels. In yet anotherexample, a front-end module (FEM) or front-end IC (FEIC) is typically apreferred design implementation for the radio front-end design. FEMs orFEICs not only simplify the RF design of radio front-end circuitry butalso greatly reduce the layout complexity in a compact radio. For theembedded WLAN radios in portable electronic devices and MIMO radios, FEMand FEIC demonstrate the strength of integration for complicated RFcircuit designs.

The emerging IEEE 802.11ac standard is a wireless computer networkingstandard which provides high throughput WLAN's below 6 GHz (what iscommonly referred to as the 5 GHz band). This specification may enablemulti-station WLAN throughput of at least 1 Gigabit per second and amaximum single link throughput of at least 500 megabits per second (500Mbit/s). 802.11ac chipsets are applicable in WiFi routers and consumerelectronics, as well as in low-power 802.11ac technology for smartphoneapplication processors. 802.11ac technology may provide one or more ofthe following technological advances, among others, over previousstandards: Wider channel bandwidths (e.g., 80 MHz and 160 MHz channelbandwidths vs. 40 MHz maximum in 802.11n); more MIMO spatial streams(e.g., support for up to 8 spatial streams vs. 4 in 802.11n); multi-userMIMO, and high-density modulation (up to 256 QAM). Such advances canallow for simultaneous streaming of HD video to multiple clientsthroughout the home, rapid synchronization and backup of large datafiles, wireless display, large campus/auditorium deployments, andmanufacturing floor automation, based on single-link and multi-stationenhancements.

A FEM for use in a device having wireless communication functionalitymay comprise two or more integrated circuits, each circuit having one ormore functional building blocks integrated therein and being disposed ona substrate, or die. As an example, in the context of a dual-band WiFisystem, a 5 GHz power amplifier, a 2.4 GHz power amplifier, a discreteswitch, and other components might be assembled onto a semiconductor dieto implement the FEM system. Alternatively, two or more semiconductordie may be assembled into one FEM system, wherein the two die mostlikely comprise different semiconductor technologies (e.g., GaAs HBT andCMOS), wherein different technologies may each provide certainperformance advantages over others. Although certain embodiments aredisclosed herein in the context of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands, itshould be understood that aspects of the present disclosure may beapplicable to any suitable or feasible frequency band. For example,certain embodiments provide for integrated FEMs that operate at or nearthe 60 GHz radio band. Operation at higher frequencies may provideincreased transmission bandwidth.

With respect to systems incorporating multiple die inside a single FEM,assembly complexity, component area, cost, package height (e.g., due todie to die bonds within the FEM, depending on the types of bondsimplemented), and overall yield may be important considerations.Therefore, it may be desirable to integrate some or all of thefunctional building blocks of an FEM into a single semiconductor die ina manner that addresses manufacturing cost, complexity, yield, componentsize, and reliability issues.

Integrating multiple functional building blocks of an FEM into onesemiconductor die may introduce certain complications in that someaspect of the particular semiconductor technology used may be less thanoptimal for one or more particular blocks. For example, an FEM utilizinga gallium-arsenide (GaAs)-based platform (e.g., GaAs HBT), which may bewell suited for RF power amplification, may not have satisfactoryfunctional characteristics for integration of low-loss, high-isolationswitches. In contrast, a controller for controlling, e.g., thefunctional position of a switch, or which among a group of amplifierdevices are enabled, might preferably, or optimally, be done in aSilicon CMOS technology platform. Generally speaking, each technologyplatform may import certain advantages and/or disadvantages for eachbuilding block in a given module. Moreover, it may be challenging toeven identify those aspects of the semiconductor technology platformthat make it less than optimal to integrate a particular building block,or blocks.

SiGe BiCMOS technology is a semiconductor technology platform that maybe used to provide a platform for complete functional integration of FEMcomponents. For example, in certain embodiments, SiGe bipolar transistorand CMOS FET technologies may be incorporated together, along withpossibly other types of circuit elements, such as capacitors, resistor,interconnect metallization, etc.

One consideration that may be relevant in designing SiGe-based devicesor components is the relatively low-resistivity generally associatedwith such substrates, which, in certain circumstances, may not providean ideal substrate upon which to construct one or more elements of anFEM system. For example, low-resistivity substrates may interact withabove-disposed technology elements to degrade the individual performanceof those elements. Furthermore, in some circumstances, thelow-resistivity substrate may absorb and transform RF signal energywithin certain technology elements into heat or other harmonic RFsignals. For example, a transmission line element above alow-resistivity substrate may be less efficient in transporting the RFsignal because of loss of signal to the underlying substrate and/ordispersion effects (e.g., frequency dependent loss and phase shift).Moreover, parasitic capacitance values of the junction between thecollector and substrate below and surrounding a SiGe bipolar transistormay have a dramatic impact on production of undesirable harmonic signalsin connection with a desired amplified RF input signal. Likewise, aparasitic n-well-to-substrate junction used in triple-well NMOS switchesmay produce undesirable harmonic signals. Therefore, the identificationand correlation of the impact of such parasitic substrate junctions onthe production of harmonic signals, as well as the mitigation thereofusing substrate engineering, may greatly affect overall performance ofan FEM constructed using SiGe technology. It may therefore be desirablefor integrated FEM design to address one or more of the followingobjectives: achieve low-loss passive matching components; achieve lowNPN substrate junction capacitance (Cjs) to enhance NPN efficiency andlinearity performance through effective harmonic terminating impedances;achieve low NFET Cjs to eliminate substrate loss contribution andenhance linearity by isolating and/or preventing rectification of theunderlying substrate junction; and eliminate or reduce device substratefeedback through substrate isolation. As described herein, certainembodiments provide for improved performance of SiGe-based FEM's throughthe use of high-resistivity layers disposed underneath, adjacent to,and/or supporting one or more SiGe BiCMOS technology elements.

As discussed herein, in accordance with certain aspects of the presentdisclosure, higher resistivity substrates may result in device-substratejunctions that significantly suppresses the amplitude of harmonicsignals. For example, higher resistivity substrates can create junctionsthat have wider depletion regions and therefore lower capacitance perunit area. The modulation of such capacitances with imposed signalsimpinging upon the device-substrate junctions can be significantly lessthan with conventional ‘lower-resistivity’ substrates. Correspondingly,less modulation of the junction capacitance can result in a system inwhich parasitic elements attaching to various circuit devices haveincreased static behavior and less overall impact on signal distortion.

Certain embodiments disclosed herein provide progressively lessexpensive and smaller component size WiFi FEMs, while easing designchallenges and providing benefits of functional integration. Functionalintegration of all necessary and/or desirable building blocks of an FEMonto a single SiGe BiCMOS technology platform may feature ahigh-resistivity substrate and may provide solutions to one or more ofthe concerns outlined above. The implementation, as described below, maybe done in a manner that minimizes the losses of RF signals associatedwith, for example, both 2.4 and 5 GHz signals within the circuits,signal dispersion, and/or parasitic junction capacitances of activetechnology elements. The implementation of a high-resistivity layer orsubstrate underneath, adjacent to, and/or supporting the activesemiconductor technology elements in other technologies, such as CMOS orbipolar technologies, may provide benefits similar to those generallyassociated with SiGe BiCMOS technology.

As is discussed in greater detail below, certain embodiments ofintegrated FEMs using SiGe BiCMOS technology in combination withhigh-resistivity bulk substrate may simplify front-end circuit design ofcertain 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WLAN devices, and may provide one or more ofthe following improvements over certain other solutions, some of whichare described in greater detail below: Incorporating functional FEMbuilding blocks in a single die may allow for reduced cost, substratearea, package size and height, and assembly complexity; using a singlesemiconductor technology platform may provide for improved adjustment ofinput and output impedance and corresponding matching networks for thevarious functional blocks in a manner that reduces design challenges;reduction in the perimeter and area parasitic junction capacitances ofbipolar and MOSFET transistors may reduces the magnitude of harmonicsignal generated by such junctions; reduction in the losses associatedwith the substrate may improve insertion losses for triple well CMOS FETswitches; reduction in both magnitude and frequency dependence of the RFsignal losses in the substrate may allow for more predictable RFcircuits to be designed with first pass success; reduction in bothmagnitude and frequency dependence of RF signal phase shift may allowmore predictable harmonic impedance terminations to be implementedwithin RF amplifiers; reduction in magnitude of parasitic junctionsunderlying active transistors may improve AC gain at various biaspoints; use of high-resistivity (HR) implant (discussed in greaterdetail below with respect to FIGS. 5A-5G) to introduce ahigh-resistivity substrate may allow for higher-Q passive components forphase shifters, oscillators, low-noise amplifiers, driver amplifiers,power amplifiers (multi-mode, multi-path, and others) and/or filters onSiGe technology; and improved intra-chip connections may permit moreoptimal placement of functional blocks to meet particular packagepin-out designs.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a wireless device 100 in accordancewith one or more aspects of the present disclosure. Applications of thepresent disclosure are not limited to wireless devices and can beapplied to any type of electronic device including RF front-endcircuitry. The application of a high-resistivity substrate within thecontext of a SiGe BiCMOS process may enable various types of circuits tobe realized that will benefit from the reduction of device-substratecapacitance (e.g., cable line drivers, laser drivers, etc.) and reducedsecond-order modulation effects such as harmonics. The wireless device100 can include an RF module 120. In certain embodiments, the RF module120 includes multiple signal-processing components. For example, the RFmodule 120 may include discrete components for amplification and/orfiltering of signals in compliance with one or more wireless datatransmission standards, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, EDGE, WiFi, etc.

The RF module 120 may include transceiver circuitry. In certainembodiments, the RF module 120 comprises a plurality of transceivercircuits, such as to accommodate operation with respect to signalsconforming to one or more different wireless data communicationstandards. Transceiver circuitry may serve as a signal source thatdetermines or sets a mode of operation of one or more components of theRF module 120. Alternatively, or in addition, a baseband circuit 150, orone or more other components that are capable of providing one or moresignals to the RF module 120 may serve as a signal source provided tothe RF module 120. In certain embodiments, the RF module 120 can includea digital to analog convertor (DAC), a user interface processor, and/oran analog to digital convertor (ADC), among possibly other things.

The RF module 120 is electrically coupled to the baseband circuit 150,which processes radio functions associated with signals received and/ortransmitted by one or more antennas (e.g., 95, 195). Such functions mayinclude, for example, signal modulation, encoding, radio frequencyshifting, or other function. The baseband circuit 150 may operate inconjunction with a real-time operating system in order to accommodatetiming dependant functionality. In certain embodiments, the basebandcircuit 150 includes, or is connected to, a central processor. Forexample, the baseband circuit 150 and central processor may be combined(e.g., part of a single integrated circuit), or may be separate modulesor devices.

The baseband circuit 150 is connected, either directly or indirectly, toa memory module 140, which contains one or more volatile and/ornon-volatile memory/data storage, devices or media. Examples of types ofstorage devices that may be included in the memory module 140 includeFlash memory, such as NAND Flash, DDR SDRAM, Mobile DDR SRAM, or anyother suitable type of memory, including magnetic media, such as a harddisk drive. Furthermore, the amount of storage included in memory module140 may vary based on one or more conditions, factors, or designpreferences. For example, memory module 140 may contain approximately256 MB, or any other suitable amount, such as 1 GB or more. The amountof memory included in wireless device 100 may depend on factors such as,for example, cost, physical space allocation, processing speed, etc.

The wireless device 100 includes a power management module 160. Thepower management module 160 includes, among possibly other things, abattery or other power source. For example, power management module mayinclude one or more lithium-ion batteries. In addition, the powermanagement module 160 may include a controller module for management ofpower flow from the power source to one or more regions of the wirelessdevice 100. Although the power management module 160 may be describedherein as including a power source in addition to a power managementcontroller, the terms “power source” and “power management,” as usedherein, may refer to either power provision, power management, or both,or any other power-related device or functionality.

The wireless device 100 may include one or more audio components 170.Example components may include one or more speakers, earpieces, headsetjacks, and/or other audio components. Furthermore, the audio componentmodule 170 may include audio compression and/or decompression circuitry(i.e., “codec”). An audio codec may be included for encoding signals fortransmission, storage or encryption, or for decoding for playback orediting, among possibly other things.

The wireless device 100 includes connectivity circuitry 130 comprisingone or more devices for use in receipt and/or processing of data fromone or more outside sources. To such end, the connectivity circuitry 130may be connected to one or more antennas 195. For example, connectivitycircuitry 130 may include one or more power amplifier devices, each ofwhich is connected to an antenna. Antenna 195 may be used for datacommunication in compliance with one or more communication protocols,such as WiFi (i.e., compliant with one or more of the IEEE 802.11 familyof standards) or Bluetooth, for example. Multiple antennas and/or poweramplifiers may be desirable to accommodate transmission/reception ofsignals compliant with different wireless communications protocols.Among possibly other things, the connectivity circuitry 130 may includea Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver.

The connectivity circuitry 130 may include one or more othercommunication portals or devices. For example, the wireless device 100may include physical slots, or ports, for engaging with Universal SerialBus (USB), Mini USB, Micro USB, Secure Digital (SD), miniSD, microSD,subscriber identification module (SIM), or other types of devicesthrough a data-communication channel.

The wireless device 100 includes one or more additional components 180.Examples of such components may include a display, such as an LCDdisplay. The display may be a touchscreen display. Furthermore, thewireless device 100 may include a display controller, which may beseparate from, or integrated with, the baseband circuit 150 and/or aseparate central processor. Other example components that may beincluded in the wireless device 100 may include one or more cameras(e.g., cameras having 2 MP, 3.2, MP, 5 MP, or other resolution),compasses, accelerometers, or other functional devices.

The components described above in connection with FIG. 4 and wirelessdevice 100 are provided as examples, and are non-limiting. Moreover, thevarious illustrated components may be combined into fewer components, orseparated into additional components. For example, baseband circuit 150can be at least partially combined with the RF module 120. As anotherexample, the RF module 120 can be split into separate receiver andtransmitter portions.

FIG. 2 provides an embodiment of an RF module such as the RF moduleillustrated above with respect to FIG. 1, The RF module 220 includes aswitch 202 which is connected to an antenna 295. The antenna 295 mayreceive and/or transmit wireless signals between the RF module 220 andan external source. In certain embodiments, the switch 202 is configuredto select a path of propagation for a wireless signal through the switch202. In certain embodiments, a first configuration of the switch 202connects a path between the antenna and a receiver portion of the RFmodule 220. The receiver portion of the RF module may include, forexample, a band-pass filter (BPF) 209, which is a device that passesfrequencies within a certain range, or band, and rejects or attenuatesfrequencies outside that range. The BPF 209 may be configured to filterout unwanted spectrum of RF signal corresponding to a desired channel ofoperation. In certain embodiments, the receiver portion of the RF moduleincludes dual-band functionality, wherein the receiver signal is dividedinto multiple receiver paths (not shown) corresponding to differentchannels of operation.

The received signal is provided from the bandpass filter to a low noiseamplifier (LNA) 206, which serves to amplify the received signal. TheLNA 206, which is an electronic amplifier used to amplify possibly veryweak signals may be desirable in order to amplify signals captured bythe antenna 295, which may be relatively weak. Although the LNA isdepicted as being disposed at a point in the receiver path following theBPF 204, the LNA 206 may be disposed at any suitable position in thereceiver path. The LNA 206 may be disposed following the BPF 204 inorder to avoid amplification of out-of-band signals. In certainembodiments, the LNA 206 is disposed relatively close to the antenna 295in order to reduce losses in the feedline that may otherwise reducereceiver sensitivity.

The signal may be provided from the LNA 206 to a mixer 208, and furtherto an analog to digital converter (ADC) 210. The mixer 208 is anonlinear electrical circuit that converts the received RF signal to anintermediate frequency for processing by a baseband module. The mixer208 may be configured to create new frequencies from two signals appliedto it, such as the received RF signal, and a signal from a phase-lockedloop (PLL) module 226, such as a signal generated by a local oscillatorthat operates in connection with the PLL 226. The ADC 210 may bedesirable for converting the received RF signal to a digital signal forbaseband processing. The digital signal may be provided by the ADC toone or more components of the wireless device via a digital controlinterface 228

When the switch 202 is placed in a transmit mode of operation, a path isenabled between the antenna and a transceiver portion of the RF module220. A signal may be provided to the RF module via the digital controlinterface 228, such as, from a baseband processor or other module. Forexample, the signal may be provided to a digital to analog converter(DAC) 218, which serves to convert the received signal to an analogsignal for transmission by the RF module. The converted analog signalmay be passed to a mixer module 216 and further to a power amplifiermodule 214, which amplifies the signal to be transmitted. The poweramplifier (PA) module 214 is described in further detail below withrespect to FIGS. 3A and 3B. The power amplifier may be coupled to adetector which detects a signal power present in the power amplifiermodule. The signal to be transmitted may pass to a low pass filter (LPF)212, which filters out noise and other undesired frequencies from thetransmitted signal. In certain embodiments, the LPF 212 is disposedbefore the PA 214 in the transmitter path in order to avoidamplification of undesired signals. The signal is transmitted by the RFmodule 220 using the antenna 295.

The RF module 220 may further comprise of one or more control modules222 for controlling the operation of the various elements of the RFmodule. The control module 222 may comprise control functionality, suchas band-selection logic, switch control logic, and/or amplifierenablement logic.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a power amplifier (PA)module 314 that may be incorporated in the RF module 220 shown in FIG.2, in RF module 120 in FIG. 1. The PA module 314 is illustrated as amulti-stage PA module. While the module 314 comprises two stages, poweramplifier modules in accordance with one or more embodiments disclosedherein may comprise any suitable number of gain stages. Furthermore,different bands of the PA module 314 may comprise different numbers ofgain stages.

To illustrate an example PA topology, 2-stage low-band and high-band PAsare shown in FIG. 3. Due to the commonality between high and low-band(such as 802.11a- and 802.11bg-band) PAs, the description herein may befocused on either high or low-band PA design; however, it will beunderstood that one or more features of the present disclosure can beapplied to either band, or other PA design. In certain embodiments,out-of-band rejection can be achieved in the input impedance matchingnetwork (331A or 331B), and/or inter-stage matching networks (332A or332B). In some implementations, the output matching network (333A or333B) not only provides optimal matching impedance for in-bandoperation, but also provides the harmonic impedance termination that maybe desired to produce optimal signal linearity.

The power amplifier module 314 may comprise a plurality of signal bandpaths such as for two separate channels. The power amplifier module 314may comprise any suitable number of amplifier stages. For example, thepower amplifier module, or one or more portions of the power amplifiermodule, may contain one or more single stage and/or multi-stage poweramplifiers. The power amplifier module 314 may include one or moreimpedance matching networks configured to match impedances betweenvarious circuit components. For example, in an embodiment comprising amulti-stage power amplifier, impedance matching circuits may beconfigured to match impedances between one or more transistor stages ofthe power amplifier. In certain embodiments, the power amplifier modulecomprises an impedance matching network 331A, 331B at an input portionof the power amplifier module in order to match impedances between thepower amplifier module 314 and one or more circuit elements to which thepower amplifier module is coupled, as well as an output impedancematching circuit 333A, 333B. In certain embodiments, the outputimpedance matching network 333A, 333B is configured to match theimpedance of the power amplifier module 314 with impedance shown by anantenna coupled to the power amplifier module 314.

In certain embodiments, the power amplifier module 314 comprises one ormore NPN bipolar transistors amplifiers formed above a high-resistivitybulk silicon substrate. Such transistor structure and formation arediscussed below with respect to FIGS. 5A-5B and 6. In some embodiments,the power amplifier module can feature a high level of integration,wherein all matching networks, out-of-band rejection filters, voltageregulators, bias circuits, logic circuits, temperature compensation,power detectors, CMOS-compatible switches, and/or diplex filters. Incertain embodiments, the dual-band PA design can also feature excellentlinearity that meets the requirements of the emerging dual-band 802.11acstandards.

FIG. 3B provides a schematic diagram of an individual power amplifier 10that may be used in a power amplifier module such as that shown in FIG.3A. The power amplifier may receive an RF signal and provide the RFsignal to one or more transistor stages. In certain embodiments, thepower amplifier includes a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) 20, whereinthe base of the transistor receives the RF signal to be amplified. Thetransistor 20 may be grounded at its emitter and the voltage levelprovided at the base of the transistor may control current passingbetween a collector portion and the emitter portion. The collector mayprovide an output signal which corresponds to an amplified version ofthe input RF signal provided to the power amplifier. Various otherconfigurations of power amplifiers may be used in accordance withembodiments disclosed herein and may include power amplifiers comprisingany suitable type or configuration of transistor or transistors. Asdescribed above, the PA 10 may be one amplifier of a multi-stage poweramplifier module.

In some implementations, the PA module 314 shown in FIG. 3A can have 2stages for a bg-band PA and 3 stages for an a-band PA, and can integratematching circuitry, out of band rejection filters, power detectors, andbias controls in a compact sized (e.g., 1.5×1.6 mm) chip. In certainembodiments, the bg-band PA can achieve approximately 28 dB gain withapproximately 2% EVM at 18 dBm and approximately 3% at 19.5 dBm outputpower. The a-band PA may be configured to achieve approximately 32 dBgain with approximately 2% EVM at 18 dBm and approximately 3% EVM at 19dBm output power. Such an embodiment would meet not only the regulatoryout-of-band emission requirements, but also the linearity requirement ofthe emerging 256 QAM 802.11ac standard. The error vector magnitude (EVM)of an 802.11ac device is −32 dB at the highest data rate, which is 7 dBlower than those for 802.11g devices. Therefore, the linearityrequirements for 802.11ac power amplifiers are significantly increasedcompared to those for conventional 802.11 applications.

The PA module 314 may include a power amplifier controller 332 forcontrolling one or more power amplifiers. Although not limited as such,controlling power amplifiers generally refers to setting, modifying, oradjusting the amount of power amplification provided by the poweramplifier. The PA module 314 may be a single integrated component thatincludes the functionality of a power amplifier controller and one ormore power amplifiers. In other implementations, the wireless device 100may include separate power amplifier control circuitry and poweramplifier(s).

Typically, GaAs-based PA linearity can suffer in dynamic mode operationdue to the poor thermal characteristics of the GaAs substrate. GaAs PAdesigns may need external circuits to improve dynamic mode linearity. Incertain embodiments, more advanced bias circuitry can be implemented toresolve thermal differences between PA stages, which can result inreduced or no degradation in both linearity and gain under dynamic modeoperation, while reducing the overall current requirements to operatewith low EVM floors as required for 802.11ac operation. Furthermore,various other technologies may be implemented to address issuesassociated with GaAs designs.

A PA design can be based on silicon germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS technology,which may use, or leverage, a low impedance path to ground with throughsilicon vias. In certain embodiments, such a design can fit in an areaof approximately 1.6×1.5 mm². SiGe BiCMOS is a proven technology forbg-band PA design. However, there may be certain design challengesassociated with realizing an amplifier with high gain and linearity at 6GHz in SiGe technology. A challenge of producing high power at highfrequency with acceptable linearity is that efficiency trends inverselywith frequency due to increasing substrate losses and parasitic loadingfrom low-resistivity silicon substrates.

As discussed above, certain conventional FEMs are configured to operateusing external switches and/or diplex filters, LNAs, and PAs, whereinone or more components are separate/independent. In certain embodiments,an FEM comprises a single module, or single chip that would have all orsome of these functions integrated. FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagramof a front-end module (FEM) 400 in accordance with one or moreembodiments disclosed herein. The FEM 400 may include at least a portionof the functional elements shown in FIG. 2, and described above. Incertain embodiments, the FEM 400 provides some or all of the circuitrypositioned between an antenna and a first intermediate frequency stageof a wireless device. For example, the FEM 400 may comprise some or allof the components in a receiver that process a signal at an originalincoming radio frequency before it is converted to lower intermediatefrequency. A front-end module in accordance with embodiments disclosedherein may comprise any suitable number or configuration of functionalelements. Descriptions of front-end modules herein may, for convenienceor otherwise, include one or more elements or modules that areunnecessary or otherwise undesirable in certain configurations.Furthermore, various descriptions herein may omit one or more functionaldevices or modules that may be desirable in a particular configuration.Therefore, it should be understood that descriptions of FEMs are notlimiting as described herein with respect to the number and orconfiguration of elements shown and/or described.

FIG. 4 includes a switch 402, one or more filters 404, one or moreamplifiers 406, control circuitry 422, impedance matching circuitry 431,and/or one or more detectors or sensors 424. The switch may be anysuitable switch, such as, for example, SP2T, SP3T, SP4T, or other typeof switch. The FEM 400 may be configured to serve as a transceiver, thatis, a module providing processing circuitry for one or more receiverand/or transmitter components of a wireless device. The filters 404, forexample, may be frequency selective filters, such as low-pass filters,high-pass filters, or band-pass filters, diplex filters, and may be usedto isolate one or more frequencies for transmission or processing. TheFEM 400 may further include one or more amplifiers 406, such as lownoise amplifiers and/or power amplifiers. In certain embodiments, areceiver branch of the FEM 400 is associated with an LNA, while atransmitter branch of the FEM 400 is associated with a PA. In certainembodiments, the FEM 400 illustrated in FIG. 4 is integrated such thatthe disclosed components are combined on a single die. For example, allor substantially all of the components or functional elements of the FEM400 may be disposed on a single substrate, such as a silicon-basedsubstrate. Integration of the various components of the FEM 400 mayprovide certain benefits, such as increased simplicity of design,reduced cost of manufacture, reduced size or profile, and/or otherbenefits.

In certain embodiments, various components of the FEM 400 are containedin multiple separate chips, or dies, as opposed to being fullyintegrated. For example, for certain high-power applications, it may bedesirable to integrate some or all of the passive components of the FEM400 into a separate chip, or Integrated Passive Device (IPD). Use of anIPD may be desirable for cost, complexity, performance, and/or otherreasons. Such embodiments may include three separate dies, a firstincorporating one or more power amplifiers, a second incorporating anIPD, and a third incorporating a switch and/or LNA.

Certain embodiments comprise ICs manufactured using silicon-on-insulator(SOI) technology. Silicon on insulator (SOI) technology refers to theuse of a layered silicon-insulator-silicon substrate in place ofconventional silicon substrates in semiconductor manufacturing toprovide device isolation and reduce parasitic device capacitance,thereby possibly improving circuit performance. SOI-based devices differfrom conventional bulk silicon-built devices in that the siliconjunction is formed above and surrounded by an electrical insulator, suchas silicon dioxide. In certain embodiments of SOI applications, the basesubstrate is a high-resistivity (e.g., approximately 1 kOhm*cm)substrate. The base substrate may have a relatively thin oxide layerdisposed above it, above which another layer of silicon is disposed.Devices built on the upper silicon layer can be essentially isolatedelectrically and thermally from the bulk substrate and from one another.The insulating layer and top-most silicon layer may vary widely withapplication. SOI-based technologies may provide one or more of thefollowing benefits relative to bulk CMOS processing: SOI CMOS built onsilicon dioxide, compared with CMOS built on a bulk Si substrate, mayrequire less-complicated well structures; latchup effects inherent inbulk CMOS circuits may be reduced or eliminated due to greater isolationof the n- and p-well structures; junction capacitance associated withsource and drain regions can be significantly reduced due to therelatively thin doped Si body or well; parasitic junction capacitancebeneath the source and drain regions can be significantly reduced oreliminated with the insulating oxide layer, which improves powerconsumption at matched performance; improvement CMOS in radiation-damagetoleration may be achieved due to the relatively small volume of Siavailable for electron-hole pair generation by radiation.

In certain embodiments, an FEM may include an LNA and switch on asilicon-on-insulator (SOI)-type die. SOI technology may be desirable inthat an SOI die provides a relatively high-resistivity substrate, andtherefore, passive devices may facilitate high Q and low losscharacteristics. Bipolar devices, which are well-suited for SOI-basedmanufacturing, are often used for LNA construction based oncurrent/noise performance of bipolar devices. However, SOIimplementation may comprise increased substrate cost compared to bulksilicon technologies. Furthermore, with respect to power amplifiersformed using SOI technology, such designs may not allow for adequatethermal dissipation characteristics.

In certain embodiments, the components of FEM 400, shown in FIG. 4, areintegrated on a single die using silicon-germanium (SiGe) technology.SiGe can be used for heterojunction bipolar transistors, among otherthings, and may provide particular benefits in mixed-signal circuit andanalog circuit IC applications. SiGe is manufactured on silicon wafersusing conventional silicon processing toolsets. SiGe processes mayachieve costs similar to those of silicon CMOS manufacturing, and may belower than those of certain other heterojunction technologies, such asgallium arsenide (GaAs).

FIG. 5A illustrates a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a bipolartransistor 520A formed on low-resistivity bulk silicon substrate. Thetransistor 520A may be formed using SiGe/Si technology, and may be anNPN, PNP, or other type of transistor. The low-resistivity nature of thesilicon substrate, as discussed above, may make such a device unsuitableor undesirable for certain RF applications.

Although SiGe technologies have generally been built usinglow-resistivity bulk substrate, as described above, this low-resistivitymay result in certain disadvantages that may make full FEM integrationless feasible or desirable. For example, with low-resistivity, there isoften feedback due to poor isolation between devices integrated on thesilicon surface. Unwanted signals from one device can travel through thelow-resistivity substrate to adversely affect the performance of otherdevices processing other signals. In certain embodiments, effects oflow-resistivity substrate are attenuated or avoided by building SiGedevices on, or adjacent to, high-resistivity substrate instead. Suchtechniques can allow for similar design approaches to those implementedin GaAs-based technologies. As silicon wafers are often less expensivethan GaAs wafers, among other advantages, using SiGe technology mayprovide cost benefits.

FIG. 5B illustrates a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a bipolartransistor 520B formed on high-resistivity bulk silicon substrate. Thetransistor 520B may be formed using SiGe/Si technology, and may be anNPN, PNP, or other type of transistor. Use of SiGe/Si technology mayallow for formation of transistors having faster operation thantraditional Si transistors. In certain embodiments, the device of FIG.5B includes a layer of high-resistivity bulk substrate, such as siliconhaving resistivity characteristics greater than 50 Ohm*cm. In certainembodiments, the bulk substrate is a high-resistivity p-type silicon.The high-resistivity layer may have resistivity of around 1000 Ohm*cm,for example. As shown in FIG. 5B, the transistor 520B includes an n+type sub-collector region, which may comprise, for example, heavyArsenic implant. However, the sub-collector, and/or other portions ofthe transistor 520B may comprise various types/materials, depending onthe technology utilized.

In certain device manufacturing processes, an epitaxial layer oflow-resistivity substrate (e.g., n-type epitaxial layer (“n-epi”)) maybe formed near a top surface of the bulk silicon substrate. For example,during processing, Arsenic, or other material from the implantedsub-collector regions may out-diffuse and redeposit on the surface ofthe silicon substrate, forming the low-resistivity layer. In certainembodiments, the n-epi layer may have a resistivity of around 1-100Ohm*cm and may be approximately 1 μm in thickness. Additionally, theapplication of silicon dioxide on the surface of high resistivitysilicon substrates, as may be used in SiGe/Si device manufacturingprocesses, may introduce fixed charges which attract free carriers andfurther decreases the bulk resistivity near the surface. Formation ofsuch a layer at the surface may be undesirable, as its low-resistivitynature may result in unwanted parasitic current conduction leading toleakage, cross talk, high frequency losses, and susceptibility toexternal electric fields that induce non-linearity and harmonicdistortion.

In order to at least partially alleviate potential concerns introducedby the low-resistivity layer, the wafer may be treated with a substancethat at least partially damages or alters the structure of thelow-resistivity layer. For example, in certain embodiments, Argon gasmay be implanted in the wafer to at least partially destroy the siliconlattice in that region. Argon, being a noble gas, is inert and thereforedoes not react chemically with the silicon, or other material. It maynot be desirable to implant lattice destroying agent and in closeproximity to an active device, or any device that relies onsingle-crystal substrate. Therefore, in certain embodiments, thetreatment of the wafer with lattice destroying agent (i.e.,high-resistivity implant) is done selectively in regions at least apredetermined distance away from an active device, such as a bipolartransistor. For example, the high-resistivity implant may be implantedat least one micrometer distance from devices that would be adverselyaffected by the implant. In certain embodiments, the high-resistivityimplant is implanted at least 10 μm from an active device. In certainembodiments, the high-resistivity implant is implanted 5-10 μm from anactive device.

Various other methods of addressing parasitic conduction issuesassociated with low-resistivity may be used in place of, or in additionto, the high-resistivity implant discussed above. For example, incertain embodiments, the wafer may be treated with a layer ofpolysilicon or amorphous silicon prior to oxide application (i.e., a“trap-rich” layer), which is configured to lock the free carriers up,thereby inhibiting mobility at operating frequencies. Such a method maybe suitable for SOI applications, and may be capable of withstandinghigh temperature conditions needed for CMOS processing. In addition, anyother suitable or desirable mechanism for restoring high-resistivitycharacteristics of the wafer may advantageously be utilized inconnection with embodiments disclosed herein. Furthermore, one or moretrenches, as shown, may be etched into the wafer, thereby impeding themovement of carriers in the substrate across the trench(es).

Although high-resistivity substrate may be conducive to desirablebipolar transistor construction, it may be desirable for certaindevices, such as CMOS, to be associated with low-resistivity substrate.Therefore, in certain embodiments, one or more devices, such as CMOS FETdevices and/or SiGe bipolar HBT devices, are grown on a bulk siliconsubstrate. Due to undesirable effects of high-resistivity substrate oncertain devices, low-resistivity substrate (e.g., p-type implant (“pwell”)) may be implanted beneath, or adjacent to, such devices.Therefore, the transistor 520 may benefit from low resistivity p-welldiffusion and contact to the substrate, as well as a surroundinghigh-resistivity region (discussed in greater detail below). The p wellmay comprise a band that at least partially surrounds the collector ofthe transistor 520B, or may be a local diffusion area close to thecollector. Although certain embodiments of transistors and substratesare described herein in the context of NPN, NFET, or other impurity-typedevices, it should be understood that any of the embodiments disclosedherein may comprise n-type or p-type collector, well, and bulksubstrates. As a p-well band, there may be one or more certain criticaldistances from the n-well that minimizes or substantially reduces NPNcollector-junction capacitance and harmonic generation. In certainembodiments, without a band of p-well, the collector n-well would not beadequately isolated from the n-epi layer that is grown on top of thehigh resistivity substrate unless the isolation is achieved by renderingthe n-epi layer to high resistivity by some implant or counter doping ordeep trench.

In certain embodiments, a pocket of charge may collect in a regionbetween the trench and p well shown in FIG. 5B. Therefore, it may bedesirable for the trench to be disposed immediately adjacent to the pwell in order to avoid such charge collection. In certain embodiments, ahigh-resistivity device such as that shown in FIG. 5B does not comprisea trench between the sub-collector region and p well. The p well mayserve to set up or limit the width of a depletion region, therebyincreasing capacitance at the n well/p well junction. The embodimentdepicted in FIG. 5B includes a high-resistivity implant region disposedadjacent to the p well.

In certain embodiments, the p well may be disposed between thetransistor 520B and one or more passive or active devices disposed onthe substrate. Therefore, the p well may provide at least partialelectrical isolation between the transistor 520B and such devices.

FIG. 5C illustrates an overhead view of a substrate with a plurality ofelectronic devices disposed thereon. As shown in FIG. 5C,low-resistivity p-type implant 551A may be disposed beneath a digital ICor collection of devices 555 to reduce interference. In certainembodiments, however, some devices, such as SiGe bipolar devices, do nothave low-resistivity implant disposed around them. For example, one ormore triple-well isolated NMOS devices for RF switches and/or one ormore bipolar SiGe transistors for power amplifiers do not receivelow-resistivity implant beneath, but may received low-resistivityimplant 551B disposed around a perimeter of the device. Therefore, asingle wafer, or die, can incorporate both high and low-resistivitysubstrate regions. Integration of FEM components may allow for theelimination of wire bonds, which may contribute to improved performanceand/or reduced size of the device.

As shown in FIG. 5C, a first portion of the substrate 500A includes adigital IC 555. For example, the IC 555 may be associated with anynon-RF device, such as a controller, digital I/O, ADC, DAC, etc. Thedevice 555 is disposed above a low-resistivity implant 551A. Whereas thelow-resistivity implant 551A is disposed adjacent to the device 555,substrate surrounding, or beneath the low-resistivity implant 551 mayhave high-resistivity characteristics, as described above. It may bedesirable to form the device 555 on such a low-resistivity region inorder to achieve certain beneficial characteristics that alow-resistivity substrate may provide with respect to various types ofdevices. For example, the low-resistivity implant may provide foreffective contact between the device and the substrate and help draw outfree carriers that may be injected into the substrate as a result ofoperation of the device. Low-resistivity implant 551A may extend adistance d₁ beyond the footprint of the device 555.

Low-resistivity implant disposed too closely to an active device maylead to various issues, such as undesirable capacitive coupling betweenthe device and the low-resistivity region. For example, whenlow-resistivity substrate is too close to an active device, a junctioncapacitance may be formed between an n-type layer of the device and ap-type low-resistivity implant. Such issues may at least partiallydefeat the purpose of utilizing high-resistivity substrate to beginwith. Therefore, in certain embodiments, an RF device 556 is disposedabove and immediately adjacent to high-resistivity substrate 501B.

In order to achieve some of the benefits associated withlow-resistivity, a low-resistivity implant 551B may be implanted in thevicinity of, though not too close to, the device 556. In certainembodiments, in order to avoid undesirable coupling or other results,the low-resistivity implant 551 does not encroach within a predetermineddistance of the device, or within a predetermined distance of a buriedlayer of the device. With respect to various regions of the device 556,the distance between the device and the low-resistivity layer 551B maybe greater than approximately one micrometer. Certain embodimentsdisclosed herein may provide for at least partially optimized placementof low-resistivity implant. For example, in certain embodiments,low-resistivity implant 551B is disposed at a distance far enough fromthe device 556 to avoid substantial coupling (e.g., 1 μm away), butclose enough to make efficient use of space (e.g., within 10-15 μm ofthe device).

FIG. 5C shows the low-resistivity layer 551B in the form of anelliptical region surrounding at least a portion of the device 556.Although shown as an ellipse, the region 551B may be of any suitable ordesirable shape or size, such as a rectangular region about arectangular device, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5D. Thelow-resistivity region 551B may have a particular width d₂ with respectto a radial axis of the device 556.

FIG. 5D illustrates an overhead view of an RF device disposed on asubstrate. The RF device 557 may be, for example, an NPN transistor,such as that shown in FIG. 5B. In certain embodiments, an RF device 557is surrounded by a low-resistivity region, or well, such as a p typelow-resistivity substrate (“p well”). The low-resistivity region (“HR”)may comprise a deep well. The low-resistivity region may be utilized inorder to limit depletion into the adjacent high-resistivity implantregion do to the presence of positive voltage potential between asub-collector of the RF device 557 and the underlying bulk substrate.

As described above, it may be desirable in embodiments utilizing alow-resistivity region (e.g., p well) such as that shown in FIG. 5D toconfigure the low-resistivity region such that it does not come tooclose to the RF device 557. Therefore, in certain embodiments, thelow-resistivity region is disposed at least a distance d_(LR) from theRF device 557. For example, it may be desirable for the low-resistivityregion to be disposed at least 1 μm, 3 μm, 5 μm, or 10 μm away from anoutside perimeter of the RF device 557. The distance d_(LR) may beoptimized to reduce junction capacitance of various PN junctions. As thecapacitance of PN junctions is voltage dependent, it may be importantthat the distance d_(LR) be configured such that parasitic capacitanceis reduced or minimized.

The space between the RF device and the low-resistivity region may beinhabited at an upper surface of the substrate by a low-resistivityepitaxial layer, as described above in connection with FIG. 5B. Incertain embodiments, one or more trenches are formed between the RFdevice and the low-resistivity implant. For example, as shown in FIG.5D, two trenches may surround the RF device 557. Such trenches may beformed in some manner, and may be useful in reducing the junctioncapacitance and limiting width of depletion region from the device 557.A trench in accordance embodiments disclosed herein may be of anysuitable or desirable depth. For example, a trench may be a deep trench,extending to or below a depth of a sub-collector of the device 557.Outside of the low-resistivity substrate region, as described above, itmay be desirable to introduce a lattice-destroying implant, or otherstructure altering process, in order to destroy an upper low-resistivitylayer, such as n-epitaxial or free carrier region formed at or near thesubstrate surface, thereby restoring high-resistivity characteristics tothe region (identified as “HR” in FIG. 5D). The HR region may beselectively implanted in various regions in order to improve operationof RF and non-RF devices.

Passive elements, such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, andtransmission lines, may be disposed directly above high-resistivityregions. Although such high-resistivity regions, as described above,comprise substrate in which an upper layer of the crystal lattice hasbeen destroyed, such passive components do not require such upperlattice, and may experience improved high frequency performance in thepresence of the high-resistivity region.

FIG. 5E illustrates a cross section of a transmission line disposedabove a high-resistivity region of a substrate. The high-resistivityregion may be formed, for example, by treating a top layer of thesilicon substrate with a lattice-destroying agent, such as Argon oranother noble gas. The high-resistivity region may help to isolate thetransmission line 593 from surrounding devices, reduce high frequencylosses, and suppress the amplitude of generated harmonic signals fromthe otherwise underlying free carriers that are attracted to the surfacefrom fixed charges present in the silicon dioxide dielectric layer.Passive devices, such as transmission line 593 may be present on asingle bulk silicon high-resistivity substrate with active RF devices,such as power amplifier bipolar transistors, wherein thehigh-resistivity region, or implant, is disposed in proximity to, butdoes not encroach upon, or impede performance of, the transistor, asshown in FIG. 5C.

FIG. 5F illustrates a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a FETtransistor 502C formed on low-resistivity bulk silicon substrate. Thetransistor 502F may be formed using SiGe/Si technology, and may be atriple-well NFET, or other type of transistor. The low-resistivitynature of the silicon substrate, as discussed above, may make such adevice unsuitable or undesirable for certain RF applications.

FIG. 5G illustrates a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a FETtransistor 502G formed on high-resistivity bulk silicon substrate. Thetransistor 502G may be formed using SiGe/Si technology, and may be atriple-well NFET, or other type of transistor. Similarly to the bipolardevice described above with reference to FIG. 5B, the transistor 502Gmay be disposed adjacent to, or surrounded by, a low-resistivity region,or well, such as a p-type well (“p well”). The p well may be a deepwell, and may assist in limiting depletion regions associated withn-type junctions of the transistor 502G. Outside the p well, there maybe a high-resistivity region, such as a region formed by ionimplantation of Argon on a top surface of the substrate to at leastpartially destroy low-resistivity epitaxial region or accumulation offree charges formed at or near the top surface of the high-resistivitybulk substrate.

With a low resistivity substrate p-well diffusion and contact provided acertain distance from the device 502G, and a surrounding highresistivity region that has been rendered high resistivity by someimplant or counter doping or deep trench, the transistor 502G mayachieve substantial electrical isolation from neighboring devices. Forexample, the substrate may have disposed thereon one or more otherpassive or active devices, wherein the p well is disposed at leastpartially between the transistor 502G and such devices. With respect toother passive devices (e.g., inductors fashioned in the metal layerssubsequent to the formation of the FET device), such devices may havehigher performance as a result of being disposed directly above the highresistivity region, wherein the high-resistivity region has beenrendered high resistivity by high-resistivity implant or counter dopingor utilization of one or more deep trenches. The transistor device 502Gmay be part of an RF switch circuit, or may form part of a mixer circuitor low noise amplifier circuit, or other circuit module.

The RF devices formed on high-resistivity bulk substrate, as disclosedherein, may be formed using traditional silicon technologies, or may beformed using SiGe/Si BiCMOS technology. One advantage of SiGe BiCMOStechnology is relatively easy integration of RF core and analogcircuits. In certain embodiments, RF core components may be based onSiGe transistors and analog components, such as bias circuits, poweramplifiers, low noise amplifiers, RF switches, and power detectors. Byallowing for integration of CMOS logic with heterojunction bipolartransistors, SiGe can be particularly suitable for mixed-signalcircuits. Heterojunction bipolar transistors have higher forward gainand lower reverse gain than traditional homojunction bipolartransistors. This translates into better low-current and high-frequencyperformance. Being a heterojunction technology with an adjustable bandgap, SiGe may provide more flexible band gap tuning than silicon-onlytechnology.

Power amplifiers may have improved thermal characteristics in SiGe-basedapplications when compared to SOI-based applications. For example, inSOI-based applications, the insulator that exists between the siliconand the active device may have low thermal conductivity, at leastpartially preventing dissipation of heat generated by the PA device. ASiGe-based transistor may be built on the semi-insulating substrate,allowing heat to be removed via the substrate, as in other silicon-basedapplications. Furthermore, by providing the ability to integrate CMOSand bipolar technologies, SiGe applications may provide improvedlinearity.

SiGe applications may be built on high-resistivity bulk siliconsubstrate having n-type diffusions. Higher resistivity may improve thetransistor-level performance, and allow for integration of, for example,high-Q passive components, filters, switches, and amplifiers on a singlechip. Performance of passive components associated with an FEM built onhigh-resistivity substrate may depend largely on the type of back-endmetals used in connection with the substrate.

As discussed above, traditional SiGe technology incorporates bulksilicon having relatively low resistivity, such as around 10-50 Ohm*cm.Certain preferred embodiments described herein, conversely, involveproviding a high-resistivity substrate on which transistors and/or otherdevices are built using a modified or identical process flow.Integration of an FEM using high-resistivity BiCMOS SiGe technology mayprovide certain advantages over other technologies, such as the abilityto integrate both the switch and the PA transistors into the bulksubstrate. For example, transistor junction capacitance (Cjs) may besubstantially reduced, such as by a factor of 10 or more, inhigh-resistivity applications. In addition, the Cjs series resistivecomponent associated with the bulk substrate may be increased by up to10-100 times or more compared to that obtained with low resistivitysubstrate. As a result, power loss may be substantially reduced. Lowparasitic contribution from the bulk substrate may provide, among otherthings, improved RF isolation between neighboring circuits and/orneighboring devices, and lower losses due to the underlying low-losssilicon region. Low parasitic contribution from the bulk will furtheralleviate the otherwise constrained impedance tuning necessary tooptimally match power amplifier stages harmonic frequencies for linearor saturated power amplifier applications.

Various challenges can arise when converting the underlying substratefrom low to high resistivity. For example, when the bulk substrateresistivity is changed, depletion widths associated with activecomponents disposed on n-type diffusions tend to be larger than inlow-resistivity substrates. Such increase in depletion width may besignificant, such as by one or more orders of magnitude. Large depletionwidths may pose certain problems, such as allowing RF or DC signals tointerfere to neighboring devices, or possibly to the back of the wafer.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for a process 600 for implementing ahigh-resistivity layer or substrate adjacent to SiGe BiCMOS technologyelements and integrating FEM components into a single die. In certainpreferred embodiments, the process is carried out in a manner thatminimizes the losses of RF signals associated with dual-band signalswithin circuits, signal dispersion, and parasitic junction capacitancesof active technology elements. The process involves providing at least aportion of a high-resistivity bulk silicon substrate at block 610, whichmay be grown, for example, using a silicon seed. When growing thehigh-resistivity substrate, it may be desirable to do so in such amanner as to maintain a resistivity that has relatively tight control,which may depend largely on the amount of oxygen precipitate (Oi)present in the substrate. That is, it may be desirable to grow asubstrate whose resistivity and intrinsic carrier type (p versus n) isnot prone to substantial alteration during subsequent processing. Incertain embodiments, excess oxygen precipitate in the bulk substrate cancause type-conversion of the substrate during manufacturing of the SiGeand CMOS processes, such as from p-type to n-type. Type conversion canlead to substantial increase in depletion widths, causing interferencecross-talk or punch-through between devices.

As illustrated above in connection with FIGS. 5B, 5D, the process 600may further include implanting, at block 620, low-resistivity implant incertain regions of the wafer. For example, such low-resistivity implantmay be configured such that various RF devices may be at least partiallysurrounded by the implant, and/or various non-RF devices may be formedon the implant. The low-resistivity implant may allow for effectivecontact between one or more devices and the underlying substrate bylimiting depletion width.

At block 630, one or more active devices are formed on the substrate.Examples of such devices may include transistors of various types. Oneor more passive devices (resistors, inductors, etc.) may be formed onthe substrate at block 650. Passive devices may be advantageously formedabove regions of the substrate where the surface has been treated toreturn the substrate to high-resistivity at or near its surface. Incertain embodiments, the process 600 allows for integration of RFdevices, such as power amplifiers, on high-resistivity siliconsubstrate.

As described above, during manufacturing process of high-resistivitysilicon wafers, an epitaxial layer of relatively low-resistivity siliconmay form on an upper surface of the wafer. Therefore, the process 600may include a step 640 that involves destroying at least a portion ofthe low-resistivity epitaxial layer in selected regions to restorehigh-resistivity characteristics of the substrate in those regions. Thisstep is illustrated at block 640, and may be performed by treating thesurface of the substrate with Argon gas, thereby at least partiallydestroying the crystal lattice in that region.

FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate example layouts of embodiments of front-endmodules that may incorporate one or more of the features disclosedherein. FEMs may be designed according to any suitable configuration,based on, for example, application specifications or requirements. Thedepicted FEMs may comprise one or more elements or devices that are notshown in the diagrams. Furthermore, the FEMs shown in FIGS. 7A-7C may beintegrated, as described above.

FIG. 7A illustrates a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an FEM 700Asuch as a FEM configured for WLAN operation. The FEM 700A shown in FIG.7A is a single band front-end module. For example, the FEM 700A may beconfigured to operate at or around 2.4 GHz (g-band). As shown, the FEM704 connects to an antenna port 795A via a switch 702A. The lineconnecting the switch 702A to the antenna port may include one or morepassive devices, such as the capacitor C1 The FEM 700A includes atransmitter path and a receiver path. The transmitter path includes apower amplifier 714A, which may be connected to a detector input, asshown. When the switch 702A is in a first position, a path is formedbetween the transmitter portion and the antenna. The FEM 700A furtherincludes a low noise amplifier 706A as part of a receiver portion of theFEM. In addition, the receiver portion includes a bypass branch having aswitch 707A, which is controlled by a control input. When the switch isengaged, signal provided from the antenna may bypass the low noiseamplifier 706A. Certain embodiments in which the FEM 700A is integratedusing SiGe BiCMOS technology, the switch 707A may advantageously beintegrated with passive and/or other devices included in the FEM 700A.

The front-end module 700B shown in FIG. 7B is also a single band frontFEM. For example the front-end module may be configured for operation atabout the 5 GHz frequency range (a-band). The FIGS. 7A and 7B may differin that FIG. 7A shows a three-position switch (SP3), whereas thefront-end module of FIG. 5B includes a two-position switch (SP2) 702B.FIGS. 7A and 7B may correspond to g-band and a-band operation,respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, FEMs in accordance with certain aspects ofthe present disclosure may include one or more switches (702A, 702B) forswitching between transmitting and receiving modes, different bands ofoperation, or other uses. However, in certain embodiments, one or morediplexer filters are included in an FEM in addition to, or in place of,one or more switches. Integration of FEMs as described herein mayadvantageously allow for integration of such diplexers with otherfront-end IC components. For example, certain embodiments providedual-band transceiver functionality using a combination of diplexerfilters and switches to alternate between low-band/high-band, andreceiver/transmitter mode.

In certain embodiments, a FEM may comprise dual band architecture. FIG.8 illustrates an embodiment of a dual-band FEM comprising g-band anda-band operational circuitry. The FEM 800 includes two separateswitches, one for each of the two bands. In certain embodiments, the FEM800 includes a single switch for both bands, such as a four orfive-position switch. The FEM 850 shown further includes two antennas(895, 896), each antenna being associated with a separate band ofoperation. In certain embodiments, the front-end module is configured tooperate in a 2.4 GHz g-band, as well as to 5 GHz a-band. Each bandincludes both a receiver and a transmitter portion. The receiver and/ortransmitter portions may include one or more amplifiers, as discussedabove. Such amplifiers may be single stage or multistage amplifiers. Forexample, the power amplifiers (814A and 814B) shown are three stageamplifiers. Furthermore the FEM 800 may include one or more filters (notshown). In certain embodiments, some or all of the components of FEM 800are integrated in a single die using SiGe BiCMOS technology, asdescribed herein.

FIG. 9 provides a schematic diagram of an integrated front-end module900 in accordance with one or more embodiments disclosed herein. The FEM900 is a dual band module configured for operation in both the 2.4 GHzband (g-band) and the 5 GHz band (a-band). Although the FEM900 shown isdescribed in the context of a dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz FEM, it shouldbe understood that the features described herein may have applicabilityin front-end modules configured for operation in one or more otherbands.

The FEM 900 includes an antenna port 995 that is coupled to a switchhaving four positions. Two of the positions of the antenna correspond toreceiver paths of the front-end module, one for the 2.4 GHz band, andanother for the 5 GHz band. The remaining two positions of the switchcorrespond to transmitter paths of the FEM 900, one for each of therelevant bands, similarly to the receiver portion. The FEM 900 comprisesa two-stage power amplifier 914A in connection with the g-band mode ofoperation and a three stage amplifier 914B in connection with the a-bandmode of operation. Each band of the transmitter portion may include oneor more matched filters for matching impedance between the poweramplifiers and, for example, the antenna, or other components of awireless device. The FEM 900 further includes a control logic module 922for controlling one or more elements of the front-end module, such asthe switch 902.

The FEM 900 includes a detector module 924 for detecting a signal on oneor more lines of the transmitter portion to provide data for use inoutput power regulation. In connection with the detector module 924, theFEM 900 may include one or more couplers (925A, 925B), such asdirectional couplers, or other types of couplers. The couplers 925A,925B enable power coupling between the transmitter portion and thedetector module 924. In some implementations, power detection can berealized at an inter-stage matching circuit between a driver and outputstage. Power detection at an intermediate stage may be generallyproportional to the actual output power. Furthermore, by coupling to thetransmitter portion at a position other than the output of the amplifiermay advantageously provide at least partial isolation from antennamismatch, such that power-reading stability is improved.

Embodiments of front-end modules disclosed herein may be configured toconform to band gain and rejection specifications of one or morewireless communication standards, such as 802.11ac (see FIG. 11 for802.11ac band gain/rejection specifications). In 802.11ac compliantFEM's constructed using gallium arsenide substrate, coexistencefiltering may be implemented using, for example, a fifth order band-passpower amplifier filter. FIG. 10A illustrates an embodiment of a fifthorder band-pass filter that may be used with 2-stage GaAs FEM'soperating at 2.4 GHz frequency. The filter of FIG. 10A includes high Qinductors on semi-insulating GaAs substrate. The various devicesillustrated in FIG. 10A may take any desirable value. For example, incertain embodiments, devices have values equal to or approximately equalto the following: C1=3.0 pF; C2=4.8 pF; C3=3.0 pF; C4=3.3 pF; C5=3.3 pF;L1=1.6 nH; L2=1.2 nH; and L3=1.2 nH.

Satisfactory gain/rejection characteristics may be difficult to achievein 2-stage SiGe implementations using low-resistivity bulk substrate dueto intrinsically higher insertion loss of corresponding filterimplementations. However, in certain embodiments, 3-stage SiGeamplifiers may used with 6-th order elliptical filtering to achieveadequate performance. Three stages may be required, as opposed to two,due to increases in loss from higher-order filtering and low-resistivitybulk silicon substrate. Therefore, with respect to low-resistivitySiGe-based technologies, it may be desirable to implement coexistencefiltering using a sixth-order elliptical filter, in order to meet802.11ac specifications. FIG. 10B illustrates an embodiment of asixth-order elliptical filter that may be used in SiGe-based 802.11accompliant FEM's. The various devices illustrated in FIG. 10B may takeany desirable value. For example, in certain embodiments, devices havevalues equal to or approximately equal to the following: C1=1.5 pF;C2=7.3 pF; C3=5.0 pF; L1=6.4 nH; L2=0.7 nH; L3=1.2 nH; L4=4.4 nH; L5=4.0nH; and L6=5.4 nH.

FIG. 11 shows potential performance of a 3-stage low-resistivity SiGeFEM utilizing a filter like that shown in FIG. 10B vis-à-vis 2-stageGaAs performance. As is illustrated in FIG. 11, gain may need to beboosted in such an SiGe embodiment in order to meet the gainrequirements at 2.4-2.5 GHz. Such gain increase may be achieved with anadditional high-frequency pre-driver stage, thereby requiring anadditional gain stage. Such in-band gain slope issues may makelow-resistivity SiGe-based solutions less desirable in certain respectsthan other solutions (e.g., GaAs-based solutions).

However, high-resistivity SiGe solutions, as described herein, may allowfor 802.11ac compliant FEMs to utilize 2-stage solutions that arecomparable to 2-stage GaAs performance. Such 2-stage solutions mayadvantageously provide satisfactory performance without the additionalincreases in current consumption, physical size, and overall increase incircuit complexity that may be required to accommodate a 6^(th) orderfilter, like that shown in FIG. 10B.

FIGS. 12A-12D illustrate embodiments of packaging configurations for FEMmodules including, for example, power amplifier modules, low noiseamplifier modules, and switches. In the embodiments of FIGS. 12A and12C, the FEM comprises two separate dies (designated “U1” and “U2”),which collectively provide the FEM functionality. The two dies areconnected at various regions by wire bonds. In addition, the dies areconnected via wire bonds to connection pads on a circuit board or leadframe package on which the two dies are disposed.

With respect to FIGS. 12B and 12D, the FEM comprises a singularintegrated die (designated “U1”), which provides all necessary FEMfunctionality. The FEM of FIG. 12B may be an integrated FEM inaccordance with embodiments described above. For example, the FEM maycomprise BiCMOS SiGe technology, which may allow for integration of thevarious components of the FEM, as described above. As is shown, the FEMof FIGS. 12B and 12D occupies a smaller package footprint and profilethan the FEM shown in FIGS. 12A and 12C. This decrease in space requiredto accommodate the FEM of FIGS. 12B and 12D may allow for more compactwireless device design. As demand increases for smaller and smallerelectronic devices, integration of FEM components into a single die maybecome increasingly desirable.

While various embodiments of integrated front-end modules have beendescribed, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artthat many more embodiments and implementations are possible. Forexample, embodiments of integrated FEMs are applicable to differenttypes of wireless communication devices, incorporating various FEMcomponents. In addition, embodiments of integrated FEMs are applicableto systems where compact, high-performance design is desired. Some ofthe embodiments described herein can be utilized in connection withwireless devices such as mobile phones. However, one or more featuresdescribed herein can be used for any other systems or apparatus thatutilize of RF signals.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of“including, but not limited to.” The word “coupled”, as generally usedherein, refers to two or more elements that may be either directlyconnected, or connected by way of one or more intermediate elements.Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similarimport, when used in this application, shall refer to this applicationas a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Wherethe context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using thesingular or plural number may also include the plural or singular numberrespectively. The word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items,that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: anyof the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and anycombination of the items in the list.

The above detailed description of embodiments of the invention is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, theinvention are described above for illustrative purposes, variousequivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention,as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, whileprocesses or blocks are presented in a given order, alternativeembodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems havingblocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may bedeleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. Each ofthese processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of differentways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as beingperformed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performedin parallel, or may be performed at different times.

The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to othersystems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements andacts of the various embodiments described above can be combined toprovide further embodiments.

While some embodiments of the inventions have been described, theseembodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are notintended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the novel methodsand systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of otherforms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in theform of the methods and systems described herein may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the disclosure. The accompanying claims andtheir equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications aswould fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosure.

1. (canceled)
 2. A front-end module (FEM) comprising: a siliconsubstrate including a high-resistivity portion; a bipolar transistordisposed on the substrate above the high-resistivity portion; and alow-resistivity well located between the bipolar transistor and apassive device, the low-resistivity well providing at least partialelectrical isolation between the bipolar transistor and the passivedevice.
 3. The FEM of claim 2 wherein the bipolar transistor includes asilicon base.
 4. The FEM of claim 2 wherein the bipolar transistorincludes a silicon-germanium alloy base.
 5. The FEM of claim 2 whereinthe passive device is disposed on the silicon substrate above thehigh-resistivity portion.
 6. The FEM of claim 2 wherein thelow-resistivity well surrounds the bipolar transistor.
 7. The FEM ofclaim 2 wherein the silicon substrate further includes a low-resistivityportion.
 8. The FEM of claim 7 wherein the low-resistivity portionincludes the low-resistivity well.
 9. The FEM of claim 2 furthercomprising a power amplifier, the power amplifier including the bipolartransistor.
 10. The FEM of claim 2 wherein the high-resistivity portionhas a resistivity of greater than or equal to 1 kOhm*cm.
 11. Asemiconductor die comprising: a silicon substrate including ahigh-resistivity portion, the silicon substrate supporting a pluralityof devices including a first device, the first device being atransistor; front-end circuitry disposed on the silicon substrate, thefront-end circuitry including the transistor, the transistor disposedabove the high-resistivity portion; and a low-resistivity well locatedbetween the transistor and a second device from the plurality ofdevices, the low-resistivity well providing at least partial electricalisolation between the transistor and the second device.
 12. Thesemiconductor die of claim 11 wherein at least some of the plurality ofdevices are passive devices.
 13. The semiconductor die of claim 11wherein the transistor includes one of a silicon base or asilicon-germanium alloy base.
 14. The semiconductor die of claim 11wherein the low-resistivity well surrounds the transistor.
 15. Thesemiconductor die of claim 11 wherein the silicon substrate furtherincludes a low-resistivity portion, the low-resistivity portionincluding the low-resistivity well.
 16. The semiconductor die of claim11 wherein the high-resistivity portion has a resistivity of greaterthan or equal to 500 Ohm*cm.
 17. A wireless device comprising: asemiconductor die including a silicon substrate, front-end circuitry,and a low-resistivity well, the silicon substrate including ahigh-resistivity portion and supporting a plurality of devices includinga transistor, the front-end circuitry disposed on the silicon substrateand including the transistor, the transistor disposed above thehigh-resistivity portion, and a low-resistivity well located between thetransistor and an additional device from the plurality of devices, thelow-resistivity well providing at least partial electrical isolationbetween the transistor and the additional device; and an antenna inelectrical communication with the semiconductor die for receiving andtransmitting wireless signals.
 18. The wireless device of claim 17wherein at least some of the plurality of devices are passive devices.19. The wireless device of claim 17 wherein the high-resistivity portionhas a resistivity of at least 500 Ohm*cm.
 20. The wireless device ofclaim 17 wherein the low-resistivity well at least partially surroundsthe transistor.
 21. The wireless device of claim 17 wherein the siliconsubstrate further includes a low-resistivity portion, thelow-resistivity portion including the low-resistivity well.